Aaron Ramsey was once again the best player on the pitch and he deserves so much credit for grabbing his place and fighting to keep it. His engine is actually quite ridiculous when you consider how much ground he must have covered a few days ago against Norwich. It is too early to say whether or not he has taken that next step in his development but should he keep this up until the end of the season then Arsene will need serious convincing that another box to box midfielder should replace him whether that be

Those who would have read my match preview yesterday will be aware that I was fearing the worst before kick off and if you had given me a chance to take the point before the game, I may have seriously considered it. At half time I would have been even more likely to have thrown in the towel and walked away with the point but this is the season of the second half isn’t it? I should have known.

We dominated the game in the second period and created enough to have won the game.

As expected, Everton were very physical and committed, in a game of this importance, they were never going to be anything else but. They also pressed us well in the first part of the first half and it was this reason why they started the stronger of the two sides.

Steven Pienaar should have put the visitors a goal up, it was the kind of chance that I would be repeating over and over in my head today had it have been an Arsenal player.

When the referee failed to hand a second yellow card to Darren Gibson it wasn’t due to a mistake or any sort of misjudgment. Neil Swarbrick knew fully that it was supposed to be a second booking, everybody did. But for some reason a second bookable offense is not actually about the rule book, it is about what teams are playing and what the time is on the clock. It is this type of decision that leaves pundits utterly confused when a shirt pull is given inside the penalty area. It is a foul and a penalty but it is also common practice for this to be ignored unless of course the unfancied team happens to be playing at Old Trafford or Camp Nou. What exactly is the point of rules when they are turned on and off? I don’t get it.

How would the game have panned out if Everton had gone down to 10 men? Nobody can answer that, the game would have taken a completely different turn but where it would have lead to is anybody’s guess. Given how we approached the game in the second half I would have been quite confident to see the Toffees a man short on the pitch.

That said, we should have had enough to win the game in that second half. Oliver Giroud was not at his sharpest and the best chances fell to him. In the first half if Giroud didn’t have to stretch quite as far to meet Ramsey’s cross then perhaps he would have had more control with the connection, as it was he didn’t and steered wide.

It is a shame that his right footed shot couldn’t be swapped with his late right footed goal against Newcastle United.

Giroud is having a very good first season, his goals and assists have been worthy of praise but what Giroud isn’t, or at least to date is a match winner. When the game is as tight as it was last night, you sometimes need something special to break through a stubborn defence.

We huffed and puffed in the second half creating some good chances but we couldn’t take them when they came, Everton should be credited for a very strong defensive performance and it is pleasing to see that we look like a solid side once more. Restricting the inform visitors to only a few chances.

Aaron Ramsey was once again the best player on the pitch and he deserves so much credit for grabbing his place and fighting to keep it. His engine is actually quite ridiculous when you consider how much ground he must have covered a few days ago against Norwich. It is too early to say whether or not he has taken that next step in his development but should he keep this up until the end of the season then Arsene will need serious convincing that another box to box midfielder should replace him whether that be the players we have at the club or externally.

Winning every game from now until the end of the season was just far too optimistic and I’d imagine that ourselves, Everton, Chelsea and Tottenham will all drop a number of points from now until the end of the season.

Fulham away on the weekend is another tough yet winnable game, I wonder if we will see some rotation from the manager. Will Podolski be given a central starting role? Will Chamberlain be given a start? Monreal is likely to come back in. I think the changes to our line up has knocked away some of our momentum and continuity that we have built up. Especially with Wilshere back in the team and not at his best.

Someone sent me a tweet saying that Tomas Rosicky did not take part in the pre game warm up so that may well explain his absence last night. Hopefully he will be back for the trip to West London because we need him. Jack Wilshere is fit but he is not sharp. There is a big difference between the two.

Chelsea are currently 3-0 up at Fulham so the pressure is back on us and Tottenham when they play on Sunday.